The prime suspect in the killing of 13-year-old Madeline Soto is scheduled to have a plea hearing Monday — one day before jury selection in his trial is supposed to begin.
An attorney for Stephan Sterns, who is accused of sexually abusing Soto before killing her, filed a court notice for the hearing around 4:45 p.m. Friday. He is facing two separate trials: One on 60 sex crimes charges, which is set to begin Tuesday, and another on a charge of first-degree murder, for which prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty and is set to start in September.
The filing was made in the murder case. It appears to have also been made in the sex crimes case, where the court document is inaccessible. Both cases list a hearing notice filed Friday and a new hearing set for Monday at 1:30 p.m.
When the Orlando Sentinel asked by email if Sterns had reached a plea deal with prosecutors and was expected to plead guilty to any criminal charges, his attorney, Beth Bourdon, said Sterns had not authorized her to speak with media. The Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Earlier in July, a judge ruled that videos and photos of Soto’s sexual abuse that prosecutors say was found on Sterns’ cellphone could be used against him in the sex crimes trial. The judge denied an argument from another attorney for Sterns, Alesha Smith, that law enforcement had coerced Sterns to give them his cellphone.
Sterns, who was dating and living with Madeline’s mother at the time, was named the prime suspect in Madeline’s disappearance shortly after she vanished in February 2024. He was arrested on the sex crimes charges a day before her body was found on March 1. Prosecutors have said he had been sexually battering Madeline since 2022, when she was 11.